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Williamsville Public Library and Museum

Williams Township’s library lends 9.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Williamsville Public Library and Museum serves 1,425 people in and around Williams Township. Last year it lent 13K print books and media and logged 7,476 visits.

217 North Elm Street, Williamsville 62693 · about 37 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 39% of U.S. towns · #421 of 754 in Illinois. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
13K
9.3 per resident
Visits a year
7,476
5.2 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
36
about 1 a week · 1,057 attended
Cardholders
34%
480 cards
Open
37 hrs
a week
In brief

What Williams Township’s library is like

Williams Township out-borrows every town next door

At 9.3 loans per resident, Williams Township leads the four towns here. The closest is Fancy Creek Township, at 7.8. Libraries next door ↓

Illinois pays a big share

24% of the budget comes from the state, and 72% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓

Williams Township invests in its library

Williamsville Public Library and Museum spends $129 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓

This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Williams Township’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Williams Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #421 of 754 in Illinois. Williams Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Williams Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Williams Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 39%
FewerMore
Illinois towns we grade (754)Ahead of 44%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $94K–$157K (3,939)Ahead of 40%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($94K–$157K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Williams Township is small (3,426 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →

Places to belong

9 community nonprofits are registered in Williams Township

2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation20.61 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.50 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.29 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.09 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other30.96 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

8.3%

8.3% of Williams Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois town and 7.5% nationally.

Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Williams Township’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

13K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

The survey has no count of children’s loans for Williams Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

How hard the shelves work
0.6×

Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 5.2 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 69%
Borrowing per resident 9.3 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 85%
Program attendance 0.7 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 52%
Programs offered 25.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Lower than 73%
Cardholders 34% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 72%
Spending $129 per resident · typical $54Top 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Williamsville Public Library and Museum serves 1,425 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

7,476
visits
5.2 per resident
13K
loans, print + digital
9.3 per resident
36
programs & events
1,057 attended
480
library cards
34% of people served
Every open hour7items borrowed
Every week20people at a program
Every day0Wi-Fi sessions
3 staff (full-time equivalent)4 public computers21K books & media on the shelves
Kids & programs

36 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Williams Township →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–50
Ages 6–110
Teens4
Adults21
All ages11
1,057
people at programs
36
programs
The building

Find it

Williamsville Public Library, 217 North Elm Street, Williamsville.

37
hours open a week
7,960
square feet
21K
books & media

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.29 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Williams Township cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
2
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$408
a year at retail prices · $34 a month

Who pays for it
$129 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $184K.

Local taxes 72%State 24%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $237K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $184K budget.

Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.

Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 480 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Williams Township borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Williams TownshipWilliamsville Public Library fine-free9.337C+
Fancy Creek TownshipSherman Public Library District fine-free7.862B+
ShermanSherman Public Library District fine-free7.862A−
Clear Lake TownshipRiverton Village Library2.640C−

Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.

Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →

Questions about the library and civic life in Williams Township

Does Williams Township have a public library?

Yes. Williamsville Public Library and Museum, 217 North Elm Street, serves 1,425 people in and around Williams Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Williamsville Public Library and Museum fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Williams Township’s library?

It logged 5.2 visits and lent 9.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Williams Township’s civic life grade?

C+ Williams Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #421 of 754 in Illinois. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Williams Township.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.